On the level here, I've been noticing a massive uptick in pop-lefties trying to claw back Patriotism from the American Right since like 2016. Is it actually working on people? Because for decades, they've blathered on about how all these issues with America are foundational issues that can only be solved in a wipe the slate clean revolution. Hell, popular media released as recently as 2021 has come out saying XYZ shouldn't be proud to be American.
On the level here, I've been noticing a massive uptick in pop-lefties trying to claw back Patriotism from the American Right since like 2016.
Scott Greer had an article awhile back noticing a similar phenomenon, saying one of the big problems with immigrants isn't a lack of assimilation but assimilation into American Leftwing culture. Leftwing America being so distinct, it has its' own patriotism.
Can immigrants save America? The answer is obviously no. By any metric, mass immigration would destroy the country conservatives wish to preserve . They’re not as “culturally conservative” as their right-wing fans claim. On pretty much every issue, immigrants favor the standard Democratic line. Hispanics overwhelmingly favor big government over limited government. Hispanics and Asians overwhelmingly oppose abortion bans. Both groups support gay marriage. Both groups favor gun control. Both groups favor speech restrictions.
The bigger issue is Berry’s assumption that assimilation as the answer. Assimilation is more likely to turn these new arrivals into liberals. Asian voters are a good example. Polling data shows that Asians who are not born here and are less proficient in English are more likely to vote Republican than American-born Asians fluent in English. The New York Times recently claimed that first-generation Asian immigrants are more open to Republican appeals because they “may not be as attuned to the history of racial inequity.” There is a point there, obnoxious liberal phrasing aside.
Newly-arrived immigrants aren’t educated in American schools. They didn’t grow up with American media bombarding them with progressive messages. They’re less likely to enjoy the fruits of identity politics and affirmative action. They haven’t bought into the excuses for the crazy things they see around them. An Asian immigrant held up by a black robber is not going to explain it as a result of systemic racism, but their children and grandchildren might.
Assimilation to the New America is very different from what Berry imagines it to be. It doesn’t require one to learn about the heroes of America’s past (besides Martin Luther King), our Constitution, or what made us great. It just requires you to listen to rap, enjoy pro sports, speak a little bit of English, and pursue the almighty dollar. Eating Flamin’ Hot Cheetos is more integral to modern American identity than knowing who Andrew Jackson is. America no longer has a rooted culture exclusive to the people here. What’s left is a mass culture that’s both shallow and extremely accessible. It doesn’t take much effort to enjoy the Super Bowl.
Many conservatives still believe Anglo-Protestant values are critical for assimilation, but not for the New America. You still need a strong work ethic to get ahead here, but that’s the only remnant from the past system. The only values you need to learn is that racism is very bad, white people are responsible for all of America’s wrongs, blacks are the true founding fathers, and equality is the highest ideal. This is an appealing message to non-white immigrants. It allows them to posture as the true Americans against the unworthy natives.The more assimilated immigrants become, the more likely they embrace leftism and identity politics.
The labour party in the UK is trying the exact same thing. They operate from the same playbook.
It makes perfect sense - they're in control of all the major institutions, the national pride - the soul of the nation, if you will, is only thing they don't have, and thus it's the only thing that's likely to unseat them. They will absolutely seek to subvert it, because they've already subverted everything else.
I have friends from all across the political spectrum and I would say, anecdotally, I think the answer is no. Anytime leftists wax patriotic (or wax “the right is unpatriotic”) it never takes more than a minute for them to fall back into talking about how shitty they think the country is, how “America is a third world country in a Gucci belt” and other NPC scripts, etc. Talk about Jan 6 and they’re shocked at how the right could “betray” America, but then they’ll also say things like the Constitution should be ripped up and replaced with an equity document, shit like that. They can’t hold the patriotic line long enough for anyone to take them seriously. The evangelical right used to be laughable in a similar way, back in the Bush era when you’d hear people say how great America was but they could somehow give you reasons why 3/4ths of the country wasn’t “real America” which is dumb too. I’ve noticed that a lot of SJWs’ political and rhetorical excesses align closely with the excesses of the evangelical right circa 1994-2010, and I’d argue that having a weird relationship with patriotism, as I’ve hopefully been able to convey here, is a prime example.
Were the evangelicals completely wrong? I don't agree with them on everything, but I can sympathize because I absolutely hate the current state of America and 3/4ths of the population are too dumb to vote.
They were more right than a lot of people really want to admit and give them credit for. And overall, I think I would rather deal with the society where they had their way instead of this fucking back-alley dumpster fire of a train wreck that we live in now.
The more 3rd worlders we import, the faster America will degenerate into a 3rd world country. When libs say America is becoming a 3rd world country we need to say "I agree with you, we need to deport illegal aliens and have an immigration moratorium."
Intelligence and the military have bought into radical liberalism as a way of manufacturing consent for imperialism. You will see that more and more. It's working on a ton of Democrats and even some Republicans.
On the level here, I've been noticing a massive uptick in pop-lefties trying to claw back Patriotism from the American Right since like 2016. Is it actually working on people? Because for decades, they've blathered on about how all these issues with America are foundational issues that can only be solved in a wipe the slate clean revolution. Hell, popular media released as recently as 2021 has come out saying XYZ shouldn't be proud to be American.
Scott Greer had an article awhile back noticing a similar phenomenon, saying one of the big problems with immigrants isn't a lack of assimilation but assimilation into American Leftwing culture. Leftwing America being so distinct, it has its' own patriotism.
Source: https://highlyrespected.substack.com/p/the-based-immigrant-meme
The labour party in the UK is trying the exact same thing. They operate from the same playbook.
It makes perfect sense - they're in control of all the major institutions, the national pride - the soul of the nation, if you will, is only thing they don't have, and thus it's the only thing that's likely to unseat them. They will absolutely seek to subvert it, because they've already subverted everything else.
Same with the Australian and NZ Labor parties (both currently in power, at least federally)…
Funny that. 🤔
I have friends from all across the political spectrum and I would say, anecdotally, I think the answer is no. Anytime leftists wax patriotic (or wax “the right is unpatriotic”) it never takes more than a minute for them to fall back into talking about how shitty they think the country is, how “America is a third world country in a Gucci belt” and other NPC scripts, etc. Talk about Jan 6 and they’re shocked at how the right could “betray” America, but then they’ll also say things like the Constitution should be ripped up and replaced with an equity document, shit like that. They can’t hold the patriotic line long enough for anyone to take them seriously. The evangelical right used to be laughable in a similar way, back in the Bush era when you’d hear people say how great America was but they could somehow give you reasons why 3/4ths of the country wasn’t “real America” which is dumb too. I’ve noticed that a lot of SJWs’ political and rhetorical excesses align closely with the excesses of the evangelical right circa 1994-2010, and I’d argue that having a weird relationship with patriotism, as I’ve hopefully been able to convey here, is a prime example.
Were the evangelicals completely wrong? I don't agree with them on everything, but I can sympathize because I absolutely hate the current state of America and 3/4ths of the population are too dumb to vote.
They were more right than a lot of people really want to admit and give them credit for. And overall, I think I would rather deal with the society where they had their way instead of this fucking back-alley dumpster fire of a train wreck that we live in now.
The more 3rd worlders we import, the faster America will degenerate into a 3rd world country. When libs say America is becoming a 3rd world country we need to say "I agree with you, we need to deport illegal aliens and have an immigration moratorium."
Intelligence and the military have bought into radical liberalism as a way of manufacturing consent for imperialism. You will see that more and more. It's working on a ton of Democrats and even some Republicans.